Register

How It Works

Build a new startup

Participants can build any startup app idea (from scratch) over 30 hours. You can network with our mentors to get tech help and feedback – and proceed through 2 rounds of judging!

Solve Crowd Challenges

Help solve real-world problems by posting and browsing through dozens of crowd-powered challenges on Accelerate.im/Challenges/.

Apply to Sponsored Challenges

Compete to solve sponsored challenges and win $100,000+ in cash / products / services by building on sponsored technology!

Form Project Teams Online

You can form project teams and join project teams by browsing the Project page of Accelerate.im!

Rules

Instructions

Teams can build apps from scratch (Mobile App / Consumer Web App / Business Web App). Teams can solve no challenges (build whatever you want) or can submit to as many Accelerate.im challenges as they want.

All hackathon prizes will be sponsor prizes. The sponsors will choose their own prizes and choose their own prize winners during Day 2 of the hackathon.

There will be 2 rounds of judging on Day 2. During Round One, judges will hear the pitches from all teams building on their technology and fill out a scoring sheet on each team.

Round one judging will be based on 1) How much progress you make 2) Concept – does it solve a real problem? and 3) Feasibility – could this become a startup or company?

The top 5 project teams will pitch on the main stage.

Because of the sheer number of participants and teams, participants will not be able to organize teams by pitching their ideas on day one. They can however post projects to the Accelerate.im network and contact other members about joining projects.

Workshops

Last Year’s Prizes

2017 Hackathon Sponsor Preview

Judges

To be announced later

FAQ

Who can participate in the hackathon?

The Accelerate 2017 hackathon (the kick-off to DeveloperWeek 2017) is open to any registered attendee to participate. You can be a developer, designer, biz dev person, idea person, or anything in between.

What types of projects can hackathon teams work on?

Hackathon teams can work on any type of project (web apps, mobile apps, wearable solutions, data visualizations, algorithms, even video presentations or visual mock-ups) however all of the hackathon prizes are sponsored prizes for teams that best utilize sponsor technology. Most of these sponsor technologies are only relevant for web and mobile applications, and 95%+ of teams will end up building web and mobile applications.

How do I form a hackathon team?

You can form a hackathon team before the hackathon (either with friends / co-workers or you can find team members and projects on the Accelerate.im app). Most participants will find teams at the hackathon kick-off (Saturday at 10:00 AM) either by hearing the idea pitches or by finding a project team to join via the Accelerate.im application. Only project admins can add team members to their team via the application, and they can add team members until Sunday at 2:00 PM.

How do project teams get judged?

When it comes to winning a sponsor’s prize, your team is responsible for demoing the project to the sponsor on Sunday at the specified time. Sponsors are solely responsible for choosing which teams win their prizes.

The first round of judging takes place on Sunday. A judge (who may be another sponsor, conference speaker, investor, or expert) will visit your table and hear your 2-minute product pitch. Projects will mainly be judged on 1) Progress on the solution 2) Communication of the idea and 3) Would this make a viable innovative startup that could grow into a company?

Who owns the technology that hackathon teams produce?

The teams that work on the projects own the project technologies, however ‘just being a team member’ at the hackathon does not mean that you get to own any code or IP that your teammates (or the audience) produce in the future based on the idea. Any ideas you pitch or share at the hackathon are released into the ‘public domain’ and we do not require attendees to sign non-disclosure agreements! It’s just a hackathon — if you’re worried about people stealing your startup idea — then this might not be the right place to unveil it.

Does the hackathon, its sponsors, or mentors provide any assistance to teams?

Almost all the sponsors are available to help you with your project (even if you’re not even using their technology!) You can contact the sponsors directly online through Accelerate.im. We will also have a list of mentors you can contact for specific help.

Hackathon Policies

Hackathon Anti-Harassment & Intellectual Property Policy

All hackathon participants are required to agree with the following Code of Conduct. Organizers will enforce this code throughout the event. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe environment for everybody.

Please report any incidents or concerns to the event staff, or contact [email protected].

I. Code of Conduct

We fully support appropriate behavior by all participants at technical events, including all hackathon conferences. We expect all attendees, sponsors, partners, volunteers, and staff to help us make the hackathon a place that welcomes and respects all participants, regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, national origin, ethnicity, or religion. We will not tolerate harassment of conference participants in person, online, or in any other form.

We expect all participants—attendees, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers—to follow the Code of Conduct during the hackthon. This includes conference-related social events at off-site locations, and in related online communities and social media. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

We thank our participants for your help in keeping the event welcoming, respectful, and friendly to all participants.

Photography is encouraged, but other participants must be given a reasonable chance to refuse being photographed. If they object to being photographed, comply with their request. It is inappropriate to take photographs in contexts where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy e.g. in bathrooms or where participants are sleeping.

Hacks created at our hackathon are equally subject to the anti-harassment policy.

Sponsors, partners, exhibitors, and volunteers are also subject to the anti-harassment policy. In particular, sponsors should not use overly sexualized images, activities, or other material. Sponsor representatives should not use overly sexualized clothing/uniforms/costumes, or otherwise create a sexualized environment.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of hackathon staff immediately. Hackathon staff will happily help participants contact any local security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the hackathon.

Hackathon participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the hackathon without a refund (if applicable) at the discretion of the hackathon organizers. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the hackathon organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the hackathon with no refund.

We expect participants to follow these rules at hackathon and workshop venues and hackathon-related social events. We value your attendance.

Please report any incidents or concerns to the event staff, or contact [email protected].

III. Intellectual Property Policy

A. Intellectual Property Rights

Any submission to the hackathon remains the intellectual property of the individual or organizations that developed it. We encourage participants to open source their projects to both share their hacks with the greater community and promote innovation in this space.

B. Protection of Intellectual Property

By submitting a hackathon entry or accepting any prize, participants represent and warrant the following: 1) participants will not submit content that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret, or otherwise subject to third-party intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless the participant is the owner of such rights or has permission from the rightful owner to post the content and to grant the hackathon all of the rights granted herein; 2) the participant will not publish falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage the hackathon, its sponsors, or any third party; 3) the participant will not submit content that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, encourages criminal activity, gives rise to civil liability, or is otherwise inappropriate or destructive to the hackathon’s or sponsors’ brand image or goodwill; 4) the participant will not post advertisements or solicitations of business; 5) the hackathon will not be obligated to pay any compensation to, or permit any participation by, any third party in connection with the use, reproduction, modification, publication, display, or other exploitation of any of the content that the participant submits; and 6) the content the participant submits does not contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or other disabling devices or harmful code.

By posting or submitting a hackathon entry to the Contest (regardless of the form or medium of such content), the participant hereby grants the hackathon and its sponsors, their respective affiliates, their affiliates’ agents, and third-party contractors a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license, with the right to sublicense, discuss, publicize, market, and otherwise display content derived from or relating to the hackathon entry (“Marketing Content”), and to distribute and use such Marketing Content for promotional and marketing purposes either in the form submitted or in the form of a derivative or adapted work. The participant understands that he or she will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your hackathon entry, other than what is described in these Official Contest Rules.

C. Copyright

The participant represents and warrants that he or she is the sole author and copyright owner of the submission, and that the submission is the participant’s original work. If the submission is a work based on an existing application, the participant warrants: 1) that he or she has acquired sufficient rights to use and to authorize others to use the submission as specified in the “Intellectual Property Rights” section of the Rules, 2) that the Submission does not infringe upon any copyright or upon any other third-party rights of which the participant is aware, and 3) that the submission is free of malware.

III. General

A. Eligibility

The hackathon organizers will have the right at their sole discretion to determine whether an entrant is eligible for the Contest. The hackathon may disqualify entries that: 1) are in violation of third-party rights, law, or regulation, 2) use inappropriate or explicit language or images, or 3) display content that the hackathon or its sponsors otherwise finds objectionable or inconsistent with the hackathon’s or its sponsors’ brand image or goodwill.

The hackathon will accept only those entries that are completed and submitted as described above and that conform to any technical requirements specified as part of the entry process. Entries that do not comply with the provisions of these Official Contest Rules will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered.

B. Winner Selection/Judging Criteria

The Contest winners will be selected by a panel of judges (“Judges”).

By submitting any hackathon entry, entrants release the hackathon, its sponsors, their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, representatives, agents, and advisors from any and all liability for any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the decisions of the Judges.

C. Awards

Contest prizes are non-transferable by the winner. Accepting a prize, makes a prize recipient solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting such prize.

D. Conduct

By entering this contest, participants agree to be bound by this policy. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the hackathon reserves the right to change this policy at any time. Participants further agree to be bound by the decisions of the hackathon and the judges which shall be final and binding in all respects. The hackathon reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual that violates this or any other hackathon policy, and acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person.

Please report any incidents or concerns to the event staff, or contact [email protected].